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Dragonborn
Ascendants, or ‘Dragonborn’ to most common people, are a powerful race spread across the Three Continents. Historians say that the first Dragonborn was Dorian El’Luthen, the same man said to be the Living Vortex, and the consort of the Dual Goddess. Whether or not they really originated from this powerful mythical figure, the Dragonborn do share many of the traits that have been ascribed to Dorian: they are partially draconic, extremely charismatic, and magically powerful. Dragonborn organize themselves into matrilineal clans, or Houses, that form the basis of the complex Dragonborn society. There are six Great Houses, each with 3000 years of carefully preserved geneology linking them as direct female-line descendants of Dorian. House El’Luthen claims descent from Dorian’s wife, and thus bears Dorian’s name, while Houses Lethian, Freya, Lilia and Denilan all claim to be descended from Dorian’s mistresses. House Duin’Sul actually claims to be descended from the light half of the Dual Goddess before she ascended, a claim the Goddesses have never denied. Each of these Great Houses, and several of the lesser Houses, are fantastically wealthy and have great economic and political influence throughout the world. As such, Dragonborn are found almost everywhere, but no matter what nation they call home their first loyalty is to their family. Personality Dragonborn in general are arrogant and aloof. They see themselves as better than the other races due to their power, and have an aristocratic lack of regard for the lives and needs of others. This is much more evident in the Great Houses, but even the lowest-born Dragonborn often sees themselves as leagues above any other race. Physical Description Dragonborn are a mix of human and draconic features. They are basically humanoid, but have large, draconic wings sprouting from powerfully muscled backs, patterns of coloured scales interspersed with flesh covering most of their bodies and eyes that have two overlapping irises and pupils. The colours of their scales indicate which draconic ancestor their bloodline expresses, which often doubles as their eye colour, and sometimes their hair colour as well. Despite, or perhaps because of, these features, Dragonborn are often incredibly beautiful. Relations Dragonborn are often disliked by those who know them personally, due to their tendency towards arrogance, but their beauty, power and wealth make them glamorous objects of envy for the common people of all races. While they have no nation of their own, they are often just a matter of formality away from being nobility in any nation they have a strong presence in. They cannot get beyond that formality, however, since the Treaty of Magar that ended the second Mage War denied the Dragonborn the ability to form their own country or become nobility in any established nation. Alignment Dragonborn do not tend towards any alignment as a whole, but certain Houses do have their own tendencies. El’Luthen are more Lawful and Good, Lilia is strongly Chaotic, etc. Religion Dragonborn are strong worshippers of the Goddesses. Claiming to be descended from one of the Goddesses’ consorts might have something to do with that. All Dragonborn also venerate Dorian as the first of their kind. While they acknowledge that he is not a divine being, their reverence for him borders on the religious, and they often swear oaths by his name. As a rule Dragonborn are disdainful of the Virtues, seeing them as more the religion of commoners. Some Dragonborn adhere to a Principle, but as with most races, it is quite rare. Names Dragonborn have three names, the first is a personal name, the second a family name, and the third a House name. Dragonborn belong to the House and family of their mother, though influential Dragonborn can start their own family line. Personal names can be anything, though Astari, Draconic and Elven names are the most common. Adventurers Dragonborn rarely become adventurers, wrapped up as they are in their own affairs and tied so closely to their families. Those that do are often simply seeking glory, though it is not unknown for a Dragonborn to take to the wandering life of an adventurer out of altruism. Racial Traits *'Ability Bonuses:' +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +4 Charisma. Dragonborn are tougher, stronger, can learn more easily than humans and tend to be remarkably attractive. *'Medium:' Dragonborn are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to size. *'Normal Speed:' Dragonborn have a base land speed of 30 feet. *'Darkvision:' Dragonborn can see in the dark up to 60 feet. *'Racial Hit Dice:' Dragonborn begin play with 3 racial hit dice (d12’s). This gives Dragonborn 6+int modifier skill ranks per hit die, as well as a base attack bonus of +3, Fort save of +1, Ref of +1 and Will of +3. They also gain two feats. *'Draconic Ancestry:' Dragonborn choose the draconic progenitor they most take after at character creation (any Chromatic or Metallic dragon fits, but not epic dragons or planar dragons, other kinds are at GM discretion). This decision cannot be changed later. *'Draconic Resistences:' Immune to Poisons and Paralysis. *'Scaled Skin:' Dragonborn gain Natural Armor of 4 due to their scaled skin. *'Energy Resistance:' Dragonborn are naturally resistant to the energy type of their Draconic Ancestry. They gain Energy Resistance 10 to that type of energy. *'Wings:' Dragonborn have wings, with which they can fly at a speed of 60 feet (Clumsy manoeuvrability). *'Natural Sorcery:' Dragonborn are all born Sorcerers. In terms of spells per day / spells known they are effectively 4th level Sorcerers. They do not gain any other benefits of the Sorcerer class unless they take that class, in which case the four natural levels of Sorceror stack with the class levels to determine spells per day and spells known (but not any other features or benefits). Dragonborn are not restricted to the Draconic Sorceror bloodline. *'Automatic Languages:' Common, Astari. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Elven, Sylvan, and any national language. *'Effective Character Level:' 4. Category:Races